Exotic Flowers in Boston

Last season, we adopted Trey Flowers as our favorite Patriot. Flowers not only excelled throughout the season, but made a crucial sack in the Super Bowl. Flowers appreciated our support and this autograph photo can be seen in our flower shop in Roslindale.  

Our staff memebrs could be seen all fall and winter wearing Trey Flowers Patriots hoodies.  This season the the Patriots garden has grown. The Pats acquired special teams player Marquis Flowers last week. We now have another player to show our support to. Hopefully Marquis will bloom in New England like Trey. 

Football fans are getting ready for their favorite day of the year next Sunday, the ultimate showdown between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons!  Hosted in Houston, Texas within NRG Stadium, people are on the edge of their seats to find out who will win the 51st annual sporting event that is sure to cause quite a commotion since Tom Brady has yet to be defeated by the southern team.  Another reason to stay glued to the TV is to watch how the quarterback yields his revenge after being suspended for the first four games of the season.  Experts are predicting a spitfire competition to see who will be the recipient of the Lombardi Trophy so be sure to plan ahead with food, décor and of course, flowers!

If you’re hosting this year’s Super Bowl and are thinking beyond making a vat of chicken wings and nachos for your guests to enjoy, you might want to think about a little décor to go along with the menu.   Team banners, t-shirts and color- coordinated settings are always fun but perhaps a few flower arrangements could be just what you need to spruce up your evening?  Here are a couple of samples for both Patriots and Falcon fans to select from and if you know you’ll have friends and family over who are routing for different teams, try a combination of the two to set an exciting Super Bowl mood!

New England Patriots

When coming up with design for floral pieces based on the Patriots, keep in mind that that there are three colors to play with: red, white and blue.  This gives you options of either combining the three or placing single colors in vases throughout the area you are entertaining.  Red roses, white hydrangea and blue delphinium are excellent varieties that will work well, either separate or together.  Other substitutes can also include red gerbera daisies, white phlox or blue dyed pom-poms.  

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons also have a similar color scheme going which will work really well if you’re planning to create both for your party.  Featuring again red and white hues, you can easily implement white daisies and red carnations for centerpieces for a festive yet inexpensive presentation.  This team jersey also has black woven into the fabric, which can be interesting if you can find black millet, black roses or black calla lilies to incorporate within the bouquets.  

The following article appeared in the SAF Sales Wake Up ! on Saturday, October 29th 2016.

By Mary Westbrook
In Boston, Rick Canale has found a new way to solve the ongoing challenge of helping staff members connect quickly with customers in an authentic way: sweatshirts.

Earlier this week Canale handed out hooded sweatshirts to his employees at Exotic Flowers. On the back, each shirt has the word "Flowers" and the number "98"— both a reference to New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers, whose name is too perfect for Canale to resist.

At Exotic Flowers in Boston, employees don a sweatshirt featuring the name of a favorite New England Patriots player — who's last name happens to be flowers — as a way to create connection with customers.

"This visual statement sends a message to customers," Canale said. "It not only opens a dialogue with clients to show common interests, but it shows that we are not just the 'florist behind the counter.' We have similar likes and dislikes."

That personalization is no small thing. According to the research firm Gartner, 64 percent of people say customer experience is more important to their purchasing decisions than price.

In addition to keeping staff warm, the sweatshirts have injected an immediate dose of personality into customer interactions. (Imagine a big smile and shared "Go Pats!" compared to the far less memorable and often ineffective sales approach "can I help you?") 

"It is just another piece that personalizes our relationship with customers," said Canale.

Canale has also taken the flowers/flowers love beyond the physical store, interacting with the football player on social media.

"He has re-tweeted our support to his fan base, which is an added bonus," Canale said.

And Canale says that florists in other metro areas who want to copy the easy conversation-starter have options, too.

"There are many pro and college athletes with the last name Flowers," he said. "Tyler Flowers is a catcher for the Atlanta Braves. Brandon Flowers is on the San Diego Chargers and Marquis Flowers plays for the Cincinnati Bengals." 

Read more about why "can I help you" is ineffective and get 25 ideas for alternative phrasing.